Jurgen Klopp lavished praise on Liverpool explosive forward

Liverpool head-coach Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he made a wrong judgment on Senegalese international forward Sadio Mane earlier in his managerial career.

Since signing the 27-year-old forward from Southampton back in 2016, Klopp has witnessed the forward found back of the net 77 times from 181 games in all competitions.

However, the German has revealed that he had doubts over Senegalese international forward when first encountering the player during his time as head-coach of Borussia Dortmund.

Speaking on documentary Sadio Mane – Made in Senegal, Klopp said: “I remember my first encounter with Sadio. It was in Dortmund. There was a really young guy sitting there. His baseball cap was askew, the blond streak he still has today.

“He looked like a rapper just starting out. I thought, ‘I don’t have time for this’. Our team back then really wasn’t bad. I needed someone who could handle not being a starter at the very beginning, someone I could develop.

“I’d say I have a pretty good feeling for people, but was I wrong. I followed his further career and continued success at [Red Bull] Salzburg. In Southampton he just dominated.”

Sadio Mane has enjoyed an excellent season, founding back of the net 16 times and provided eight assists from 34 games in the Champions League and Premier League.